Not that this day is without its problems, Lord - I have plenty of those - more than enough!But today I come to thank you for gifts and blessings, for grace and help you've given me so often and so freely...

But even as I pray these words, Lord, I'm tempted once again to look first at what saddens and distracts me from the joy of giving thanksand so I pray you'll be generous and give me grace to let go, for this time of prayer, my troublesand to look again and thank you for your gifts...

I thank you for the many times you've stood right by my side and held me up when all my strength was sapped and hope was hard to find...

I thank you for the times you've healed my heart of brokenness I thought would never mend, of pain I thought would never end, of fears I thought would haunt me all my life...

I thank you for nudges, the pushes and sometimes the shoves you've given meto wake me up, get me going, move me along, put me on the right course, redirect my path, set me straight and given me just what I needed just to take the next step...

I thank you for your Spirit helping me to be honest with myself, with you and with others;I thank you for the courage to speak the truth to myself, to you and to others;I thank you for the help I often need to say I'm sorry to myself, to you and to others;I thank you for the grace to forgive myself and others;I thank you for the will to surrender to the truth, to wisdom, and to your love...

I thank you for the ways you show your care for me: in the words and deeds and helps that friends and family offer; in the kindness of strangers; in unexpected pleasant moments come my way when my eyes and ears and heart are open to your presence; and in the whispers of your Spirit in my thoughts and prayers...

I thank you for the joy of knowing that you're with me both in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health;

I thank you for the joy of days and years gone by

and for the memories that still linger in my soul;

I thank you for the happiness that used to be

and the promise of the hope there's more to come...

I thank you for the times, and there've been many, when your mercy pardoned all my sins and gave a new beginning to my journey when it I thought that couldn't be...

I thank you for the simplest things in life and for the people I forget or take for grantedand especially I thank you for:

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I thank you for my faith and for the trust I have in you and in your wisdom and your word;I thank you for gift of knowing that you call me by my name, that you know me inside out and yet you love me nonetheless;I thank you for your giving me the grace I need to walk in faith and not to fear, for you are at my side...

I thank you for the grace that helps me find and make the time to pray, to sit with you in peace, to trust that you are near, that you are here, that you're my God...

In the quiet of my prayer, Lord, receive my thanks and praise for all your gifts and blessings...

To ponder and pray over...Do my troubles and trials sometimes keep me from seeing all my gifts and blessings?Do I have an "attitude of gratitude?"What are the greatest blessings in my life for which I'm grateful?What are the smallest, simplest blessings for which I'm grateful?For what in my past am I most grateful?For whom in my life am I most grateful?

What will I ask of the Lord today? From this prayer time, what word or phrase will I keep with me to carry through the rest of my day?

(After you spend some time with these questions,

pray the reflection above one more time...)

Here are some tips
for praying 10 minutes a day. If you find these daily prayer
reminders helpful, please let me know - and share them with others.
You'll find an archive of these daily posts here.

please help me to be more aware of you with me-and please help me to be more present in my prayers-because I think sometimes my prayers get all mixed up in my emotions- my more intense, confusing emotions-

I have faith in you and trust you, Lord, but I am afraid that I am not always very consciously aware of that-

Are you thinking about becoming a Catholic?

The best place to start is always one of your local Catholic churches. Drop in some Sunday and see what's going on. Then you might speak to the pastor or someone on the parish staff about how they can help you and respond to your questions.